Systemic sclerosis & Raynaud's
Systemic sclerosis in Israel clinical characteristics, ethnic and spatial disparities: A nationwide study
Authors' conclusion
SSc prevalence in Israel is among the highest reported worldwide and shows marked spatial clustering. Ethnic differences vary after accounting for spatial dependence, with consistently high prevalence in Druze localities.
Study context
- Population
- Clalit Health Services members across Israeli localities
- Comparison
- Druze and Arab vs Jewish localities
- Outcome
- SSc prevalence, incidence and mortality; ethnic and geographic patterns
Methodological detailsspatial autocorrelation (Moran's I, Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA)), negative binomial regression, Bayesian spatial Poisson models, adjusted for socioeconomic status (SES)
- Spatial autocorrelation (Moran's I, LISA)
- Negative binomial regression
- Bayesian spatial Poisson models
- Adjusted for SES
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
SSc prevalence, incidence, mortality
- Prevalence in 2000 (per million)
- 107
- Prevalence in 2023 (per million)
- 627
- Incidence, stable (per 100,000/year)
- ≈2.8-3. 9
- Standardized mortality rate
- 2.88
- Spatial autocorrelation of prevalence, Moran's I (p < 0.001); clusters in northern Israel
- 0.065
Further findings
| Outcome | RR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| SSc prevalence by locality ethnicity, after spatial adjustmentArab localitiesvs Jewish localities | 0.78 (0.64–0.94) | |
| 0.512Relative risk (log scale) |
| Outcome | PRR (95% CI) |
|---|---|
| SSc prevalence by locality ethnicity, non-spatial modelsDruze localities vs Jewish localities | 1.45 (1.04–2.01) |
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) prevalence by locality ethnicity, non-spatial models
- Arab localities did not differ from Jewish localities
SSc prevalence by locality ethnicity, after spatial adjustment
- Druze localities showed the highest prevalence
SES and SSc prevalence
- Higher SES associated with increased prevalence
Parts of this Brief are withheld: the automatic checks could not confirm them against the abstract.
Original publication
Systemic sclerosis in Israel clinical characteristics, ethnic and spatial disparities: A nationwide study. Semin Arthritis Rheum. Published 13 September 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →